I watched the speech. After a long delay, Biden limped up the steps to the stage using his obligatory handrail, where he (sort of) discussed his new Executive Order (EO). His speech was short, thankfully, and as usual full of lies and inattention to law and government authorities.
I did note that he jumbled his words about every other sentence… His dementia is noticeably worse than when he took office. I don’t like the man at all, but hate to see that happen to him or to anyone. But it does and should raise serious concerns about him being Commander in Chief…
But back to the new EO. What it amounts to is the next few steps in the death-by-a-thousand-cuts strategy the democrats have reverted to regarding firearms confiscation. They know that they will never get a Constitutional amendment through erasing the Second Amendment, so they are trying to nibble away at the rights of law-abiding firearms owners every chance they get. Before getting into the details, allow me to make a couple of points that overarch all of the Presidential EOs and ATF rules that we are seeing.
First, what is always overlooked with new firearms legislation, EOs, or rules is that criminals don’t care about any of that. Criminals will be criminals. They don’t obtain their firearms through a legal purchase by completing an ATF Form 4473 and completing a background check. They obtain them on the black market or steal them. Pass all the laws you want. They only impact law-abiding citizens. Making good people helpless will not make bad people harmless.
Yes, I know that some firearms used in shootings were legally obtained, but that is the exception, not the norm. In November of 2022, legislation went into effect that required an extended waiting period for 18-20-year-olds to allow local juvenile records to be checked, up to ten days. Maybe that will stop someone with a criminal record as a juvenile from legally obtaining a firearm. The problem is it is unconstitutional since those records are sealed when the person turns 18 and require a court order to unseal them. But hey, when has the ATF actually followed the law?
Second, the FBI/ATF does not have the authority to create law. They are part of the Executive Branch of government, not the Legislative Branch. We are seeing this played out based on the Supreme Court ruling in the NY Bruin case. The bump-stock ban rule (not law) has been reversed as a result of the overreach of an EO in the Trump era based on that Supreme Court opinion. The identical case law now applies to the pistol brace rule, which you can read about at the following link. Be sure to read the comments as they contain a lot of good information beyond what is in the basic article.
Here is a link to the new EO, which is equally invalid, as are the bump stock and pistol brace rulings.
In the second paragraph of the EO it states, “It is the policy of my Administration that executive departments and agencies (agencies) will pursue every legally available and appropriate action to reduce gun violence.” Emphasis added. To my second point above, an EO or ATF rule is not a law. So the policy they are describing is fundamentally flawed and illegal based on that fact alone. The federal government has no authority through the Executive Branch to force states to implement anything that is not a law.
NH has HB1178 as existing law, passed in 2022, which prohibits the state from enforcing any federal statute, regulation, or Presidential Executive Order that restricts or regulates the right of the people to keep and bear arms. There is an attempt to overturn that law (HB78 2023) currently in committee. Many other states have similar laws.
Other items in the EO include banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. I won’t even get into the ambiguity about what an assault weapon is or is not, but the MSM LOVES the made-up term! And Biden does as well. In his speech, he cited the success of the Clinton-era assault weapons ban in reducing homicides. That is an outright lie. It did nothing along those lines, especially in light of the fact that what are called assault weapons are used in single-digit percentages of mass shootings (more than four victims). See the two reports at the following links.
https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/173405.pdf
https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/204431.pdf
The EO includes an attempt to redefine who is required to have a Federal Firearms License (FFL), which requires one to go through an arduous process to obtain one. There already is a definition. This is another attempt to change an existing definition to enact an unconstitutional rule change. The text of the EO is vague, of course, but what it is attempting to do is force private sales of a few firearms a year to become a commercial sales outlet and thus require the seller to obtain an FFL. There is expense and time involved to do so, and it would require that every transfer invoke an ATF Form 4473 background check. Want to give your son a firearm? You would now, as an FFL, have to create a record with the ATF of that transfer and complete a background check on him. It’s an unfunded mandate (tax) on law-abiding citizens and is an attempt at their push for universal background checks.
In multiple places in the EO, the Department of Defense is named as having partial responsibility for expanding federal campaigns regarding firearms as they pertain to US citizens. These activities include the safe storage of firearms and encouraging proliferation and application of unconstitutional red-flag laws which provide for ex-parte confiscation of firearms and ammunition. This is in direct violation of the Posse-Comitatus Act of 1878, which prevents the President from using the military as a domestic police force.
The EO also provides for additional aid to survivors, families, and communities of victims of firearms violence and for additional mental health support. This is the one and only item in the EO that makes sense.
The EO states “The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall develop and implement principles to further firearm and public safety practices through the Department of Defense’s acquisition of firearms, consistent with applicable law.” What the hell does that mean??
An unfunded mandate is included in the EO for the entry of ballistics data recovered in connection with criminal investigations into the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network database by law enforcement. More government overreach.
The text says “The Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Department of Justice, shall work to reduce the loss or theft of firearms during shipment between FFLs and to improve reporting of such losses or thefts, including by engaging with carriers and shippers.” In my time working in this industry where we do MANY transfers between FFLs every day, I have never seen such a loss occur. I have seen the damage of firearms in shipping, but never loss.
The EO states that “The Federal Trade Commission is encouraged to issue a public report analyzing how gun manufacturers market firearms to minors and how such manufacturers market firearms to civilians, including through the use of military imagery.” Say what?? I have yet to see marketing specifically addressed to minors. Ever. And what exactly is “military imagery”? Maybe the content of video games should be included in the EO…
Biden stated in his speech that the firearms industry is the only one where the firearms manufacturers are indemnified from liability of injury caused by the use of their products. He wants to make them liable for a criminal using an inanimate object to commit a crime. Another lie. The pharmaceutical industry’s indemnification from harm by the Experimental Use Authorization mRNA “vaccines” is a current example of another such industry. And what about auto manufacturers? Should they be held liable when their product results in injury? Cutco and other knife manufacturers? Swimming pool companies? Alcoholic beverage producers?
The entire EO is in violation of the separation of powers, the US Constitution, and is an unfunded mandate. Wake up, people – we MUST push back on this government overreach. Shall not be infringed is pretty clear.
